Skip the Borfin
by MrZanyToTheMax
Summary: Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse discover a Borfin in the park and meet Odd Squad agents Otto and Olive. When Olive gets the skips after Berlioz accidentally causes Otto and Olive to become conjoined, can Marie lead her brothers to where Otto and Olive will be? This story takes place before the events of The Aristocats' Island.
1. The Borfin

You know something? My brothers and I had quite an _odd_ day the week before we got stranded on the island. It started when we saw a strange brown contraption in the park. My older brother, Toulouse, identified it as a Borfin. "What does it do?" my younger brother, Berlioz, asked. "It shlumps," Toulouse replied. "Anything else?" I asked. "Well, Marie," Toulouse replied, "I don't know." "My guess is there's a remote control to it," Berlioz said, "but we won't know for sure until we find one." It was then that I noticed a strange logo on the back of the Borfin. It looked like a rabbit with antlers. "Hey, Toulouse," I said, "Do you know what this is the logo of?" Toulouse looked at the logo and said, "I don't know, but it seems like a rather odd logo, don't you think?" "Odd?" Berlioz asked. "That word reminds me of something..." "What is it?" I asked. "I don't know what," Berlioz replied. "_I_ know what it might remind you of!" a voice said from behind us. "Us!" said another voice. We turned around. Two human kids were standing there! In case you were wondering, my brothers and I are cats.

* * *

><p><em>Toulouse must have been reading "Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?" before the events of this story. That's how he knew about the Borfin and the fact that it shlumps. Also, when Berlioz saw the logo on the Borfin and heard Toulouse say the word "odd", he said it reminded him of something. He must have been listening in to an episode of <em>Odd Squad_, too!_

_In case you're wondering, this story (as well as _The Aristocats' Island_) does not take place in Paris in 1910 (where _The Aristocats_ originally took place). This story actually takes place in a town of anthropomorphic cats sometime in the present year. In this story, Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse look the same as they do in _The Aristocats' Island_. In a later story, I'll explain how the Aristocats were brought to this time period._

_Since my first encounter with _Odd Squad_, I've been watching episodes of the show (especially "Skip Day", since it was that episode that introduced me to the series, as well as the inspiration for this story)._

_I've been thinking of the Borfin from __"Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?" a lot recently. I have an idea of what it does other than shlump. This is what it does (according to me, anyway): Toulouse guessed correctly regarding the remote control. The remote control to the Borfin has six buttons. If the blue button is pressed, it sucks up the nearest two people or animals into it like a vacuum cleaner. If the purple button is pressed, it does something similar to a volcano erupting and sends everything inside it out of it. If the green button is pressed, a door in the back opens, allowing someone to get in or out. If two people or animals are in the Borfin when the red button is pressed, they will become conjoined. If they're already conjoined or only one person or animal is in the Borfin, nothing happens when the red button is pressed. But if two people or animals are in the Borfin and they're conjoined, pressing the orange button will separate them. If two people or animals are in the Borfin when the yellow button is pressed, they will switch bodies. This will not work if they're conjoined or if only one person or animal is in the Borfin._

_So that's what I think the Borfin does. Your ideas may be different. Stay tuned for the next chapter!_


	2. Berlioz Gets Things Messed Up

The two kids introduced themselves. The boy's name was Otto, and the girl's name was Olive. "We're Odd Squad agents," Otto explained. "Of course! Odd Squad!" Berlioz said. "Berlioz," I asked, "how do you even know about this Odd Squad?" "I saw the show once," explained Berlioz. Then he said to the Odd Squad agents, "I never knew you had a Borfin. Do you have a machine that can take things out of books?" "Funny you should ask," Olive said, "because we actually do! But the machine makes a copy of whatever we want to take from the book. It takes the _copy_ out of the book and keeps the original _in_ the book." "Is there a remote control for the Borfin?" Toulouse asked. "Yes, there is," Otto said, getting the remote control from his pocket. He handed the remote control to Toulouse, who handed it to me. I took a look at it. It was brown, just like the Borfin, and it had six buttons on it. The top left one was red, the top right one was orange, the middle left one was yellow, the middle right one was green, the bottom left one was blue, and the bottom right one was purple. I handed the remote control to Berlioz, who pressed the blue button. All of a sudden, Otto and Olive disappeared! "Otto? Olive? Where are you?" I asked. "We're in the Borfin!" Olive replied. "How do I get you out?" asked Berlioz. "Push a different button!" said Otto. So Berlioz pressed the red button. "Is it the red button?" he asked. "NO!" both Odd Squad agents said. "It's the purple button," Olive said. So Berlioz pressed the purple button, and Otto and Olive reappeared. But now they didn't look the same as before. Olive's left arm and right leg were replaced by Otto's left arm and right leg, and Otto's head was sticking out of Olive's neck. There was no sign of the rest of Otto's body anywhere I then realized what the red button did. It activated the Borfin's conjoining device.

* * *

><p><em>And that's why you should never leave a Borfin's remote control with Berlioz. It won't cause the Borfin to shlump, but Berlioz might press the wrong button and conjoin someone, like he just did to Otto and Olive. But the next chapter has something <strong>extremely<strong> odd in store._


	3. The Search Begins!

"What happened?" asked Berlioz. "Pressing the red button activates the Borfin's conjoining device," explained Olive. "But there's a problem," Otto added. "What do you mean?" I asked. "When the Borfin is used to conjoin Olive with someone," Otto explained, "she gets the skips." "The skips? What are the skips?" I asked. "It's a condition that makes you skip steps," Olive explained. "And also skip," she added. "And also skip?" I asked. "Instead of walking?" "That's absolutely correct," Olive replied. And with that, she and Otto skipped away, but not before Otto handed me a note. I read it out loud to Berlioz and Toulouse. According to Otto's note, only Olive gets the skips when she gets conjoined with someone. The one she's attached to, Otto in this case, does not get the skips. Otto had also written a copy of Olive's to-do list on the same sheet of paper. Below the list, Otto had written that he and Olive were going to stay in our town most of the day, so all the places on the list would be accessible to us. "Is the Borfin on the list?" Berlioz asked. "Yes," I said. "Step 3 is 'get Borfin'." "What did Olive mean by 'get Borfin?'" asked Toulouse. It was then that I noticed that Otto wrote more on the note. The part I didn't read said that he and Olive came to get the Borfin, and Olive thought it might be interesting to spend most of the day in our town before going back to Odd Squad headquarters. "Well, we just saw them do step 3," Berlioz said, "so that means they'll do step 4 next." "But Olive has the skips," I recalled. "I think she and Otto might skip that step." "So they'll go from 3 to 5?" asked Toulouse. "Exactly," I said.

* * *

><p><em>And so the Aristocats are now beginning their search for Otto and Olive. But they'll be in for a surprise in the next chapter!<em>


	4. At the Tennis Court

"Marie," asked Toulouse, "what is step 5 on the list?" I looked at the list. "Play tennis," I answered. "Then let's go to the tennis court!" said Berlioz. But no one was there! "Well, Marie," Berlioz said, "if Otto and Olive aren't here, then where could they be?" I thought for a while, and then I said, "Berlioz, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" "I think so, Marie," Berlioz said, "but if there was a number hog in town, we would hear oinking, wouldn't we?" "Berlioz," I told him, "we're not looking for a number hog. We're looking for Otto and Olive." "Well, if Roquefort were here, he could help," Toulouse suggested. "But he isn't," I pointed out. "So this is a job for..." I put on a detective hat and said, "Detective Marie!"

* * *

><p><em>Berlioz's response to Marie's question, "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?", is a reference to the Odd Squad episode "Zero Effect", which involved a number hog. His response also involves a pun on the word "hog" in the phrase "number hog". Marie's question itself is a reference to Pinky and the Brain.<em>

_Stay tuned for the next chapter!_


	5. Another Note from Otto

"If Otto and Olive aren't here," I said, "they must be at step 6." "What's step 6?" asked Berlioz. I looked at the list. It was "go to lemonade stand." "We need to go to Fluff's lemonade stand!" I said. When we got there, a white rabbit was trying to clean up a mess on the ground. "Fluff! What happened?" I asked. "Those Odd Squad agents ruined my stand," Fluff replied. "Both of them?" Toulouse asked. "Actually, just Olive," explained Fluff. "She was acting so weird." "I think she skipped the step where she took a glass," I said, looking at the mess of lemonade and partly-melted ice. "Olive has a case of the skips," Toulouse explained. "The skips?" asked Fluff. "I had the skips once. Peter Rabbit and his sisters spent the entire morning searching for me!" "I bet they did," I said. Then I asked Fluff, "Do you happen to know where Otto and Olive are now?" "Funny you should ask," said Fluff. "Before they left, Otto handed me this note. He told me to give it to you." She handed the note to me, and I read it out loud. It read: "Marie, if you are reading this, then Olive and I are headed to the swimming pool. We went straight from the park to Fluff's stand, and we're going straight from the stand to the pool. Olive is skipping by 3's, in case you're wondering. Sincerely, Agent Otto." I looked at Berlioz and Toulouse, and I said, "Then the pool is where we'll go!"

* * *

><p><em>Fluff is from The New Adventures of Peter Rabbit. And yes, there are a few rabbits in the town that the story takes place in. They're anthropomorphic, just like the cats in the town.<em>

_Will the Aristocats find Otto and Olive at the pool? The next chapter will answer that question._


	6. Marie Figures It Out!

When we got to the pool, no one was there. But Otto had left another note! I read it aloud to my brothers. It read: "Marie, if you are reading this note, then Olive and I have left here already. We came here from Fluff's stand, which you already know, and from here we are going to the basketball court. Try to be three steps ahead of us. Sincerely, Agent Otto." "I don't get it," Berlioz said. "Three steps ahead? What does that mean?" "I know what it means," I said. "Remember the note Fluff gave us? It said that Olive was skipping by 3's. Before she got the skips, she and Otto finished step 3: 'get Borfin.'" "Then they skipped to 6: 'get lemonade'," Toulouse remembered. "Then they skipped to 9," I said, "which is here. Now they're either headed to or at the basketball court, which is step 12." "But what does three steps ahead mean?" Berlioz asked. "It's a play on the phrase '_one_ step ahead'," I explained. "Since Olive is skipping by 3's, Otto suggested that we should show up where he and Olive will go next. That's step 15: 'go skydiving.'" I then realized that I had solved the case! "I know where we'll find them!" I exclaimed. "But wait!" Berlioz interjected. "What is it?" I asked him. "When you skydive," Berlioz explained, "you jump out of a plane. What if Olive skips the step where she puts on a parachute?"

* * *

><p><em>Berlioz has a point there. In fact, Otto thought of the same possibility in "Skip Day". By the way, Olive's to-do list is similar to her list in that episode. But it's a lemonade stand because this story takes place in the summer. (I actually have no idea which season "Skip Day" takes place in, but I don't think it was winter because it wasn't snowing.)<em>

_I was going to have Otto include three Odd Squad badges with the note so the Aristocats could go to the Mathroom. But I decided to have them figure it out on their own. When Olive led Otto to Fluff's lemonade stand, Otto realized that Olive was skipping by 3's because of his experience in "Skip Day"._

_Will the Aristocats get to the right plane on time? The next chapter will answer that question._


	7. The Aristocats Save the Day!

We had no idea where to find the plane Otto and Olive would use for skydiving, but as we left the pool, there was a plane right across the street! Standing next to the plane was a gray rabbit. "Hi, Rita," I said as my brothers and I came to the plane. "Are Otto and Olive supposed to come here for skydiving today?" "You mean the Odd Squad agents?" Rita replied. "Yes," I said. "Good," said Rita. "Then we're on the same page. Yes, they are, but they haven't come yet." "Well," I said, "they'll some a lot earlier than you think. You see, Olive has the skips." "Well, it's a good thing they're coming early," Rita replied. "It's not a good thing that Olive has the skips." "Are you worried that Olive won't put on a parachute?" asked Berlioz. "Because I thought of the same possibility." Just then, Otto and Olive showed up! "Marie! What are you doing here?" Otto asked. "The notes you gave us helped us find out where you would go next," I answered. "Well, it's a good thing you found us," said Otto. "Why is that?" Berlioz asked. "I was afraid Olive would skip the step where she puts on a parachute," replied Otto. "I was afraid of that same thing!" said Berlioz. "Me too!" said Rita. "Then why don't we skip the skydiving and get back to the Borfin?" suggested Olive. "I like that idea!" I said.

When we got back to the Borfin, we saw three more Odd Squad agents. Otto introduced them. The younger girl was Ms. O, the chief of Odd Squad. The boy with glasses was Oscar, who works at the Odd Squad lab. The older girl was Dr. O, the doctor at Odd Squad. "What are they doing here?" asked Toulouse. "Well," explained Otto, "you know that Olive got the skips, right?" We all nodded. "Well," said Otto, "Oscar and Dr. O have found a cure." "You see," said Dr. O, "the skips are caused by a special type of dust, appropriately called Skip Dust." "And Dr. O and I have just developed something to cancel out the Skip Dust," added Oscar. "Appropriately called Anti-Skip Dust." He got out an odd gadget and added, "This gadget is an anti-skipinator, which generates Anti-Skip Dust." "But how did Olive get the skips when she was in the Borfin?" I asked. "One of the boxes inside the Borfin has Skip Dust in it," explained Dr. O as she took the anti-skipinator from Oscar and zapped Otto and Olive with it. "Now, Olive," she said, "walk across the park." I was surprised at what happened. Olive didn't skip! She walked! She was cured of the skips! But she was still attached to Otto, so Dr. O handed Otto the anti-skipinator as Berlioz handed me the remote control. I pressed the blue button to get Otto and Olive in the Borfin. "Dr. O," I asked, "why did you hand Otto the anti-skipinator?" "Because Otto and Olive use each other's hands when they're conjoined," Dr. O replied. "Now press the orange button," Oscar said. So I pressed the orange button, separating Otto and Olive. "Olive! Use the anti-skipinator!" Ms. O shouted. A second later, I heard Olive say, "That's done, Ms. O!" Then Otto said. "Marie! Press either the green button or the purple button to let us out!" I pressed the green button, and a door opened in the back of the Borfin. Otto and Olive both got out. Dr. O had both Otto and Olive walk across the park again. Neither of them skipped. They both walked. "Well," I said, "that takes care of that." I started to leave when Berlioz said, "Marie! You're skipping!" I stopped. He was right! I was! "No problem," said Oscar. "I've got the anti-skipinator." He zapped me, Berlioz, Toulouse, Rita, and Fluff with it. You see, Rita and Fluff came to the park to see Otto and Olive again. "But what I don't understand," I said, "is how _I_ got the skips." "The skips must be contagious," Toulouse realized. "He's right," said Ms. O. "But now that you've all been zapped by the anti-skipinator, that should take care of the skips for now." "Yes, it should," I said. Then I said to Dr. O, "Thanks, doctor." "And thank you, doctor," said Dr. O. "I'm not a doctor," I explained to her. "I know," she said. "I was talking to myself."

We were a bit sad to see the Odd Squad agents leave a few minutes later. But we were glad to know that no one in town had the skips now. I was so happy about that, I started skipping. Berlioz and Toulouse looked at me suspiciously, and then they yelled, "Odd Squad! Come back!" But I didn't have the skips. I was just happy. Oh, and they took the Borfin with them, of course. But how did the Borfin end up here on the island?

* * *

><p><em>So that's the end of the story. As you can see, Marie is telling it to the other castaways. The Borfin will appear in an upcoming chapter of <em>The Aristocats' Island_. By the way, recognize that last bit with Dr. O? It came from "Skip Day", where she supposedly said "And thank you, doctor" to Otto, but she was talking to herself._


End file.
